'Infamous Second Son' lets adrenaline junkies run wild (review)

With all due respect to Ben Parker, great power is a blast no matter how you use it.

Graffiti artist Delsin Rowe can't seem to find his place in life, until a run-in with an escaped convict infuses him with incredible abilities. With Delsin branded a bio-terrorist and being hunted by a specialized task force, it's up to players to decide whether he uses his newfound skills for good or evil.

Developer Sucker Punch Productions hits all of the high notes of what a superhero game should be: The action stays fresh as Delsin rapidly acquires new abilities; Seattle is recreated in stunning detail and serves as a gorgeous, open-world environment; and, of course, player choice heavily alters the game's narrative.

Delsin can absorb powers from other Conduits, providing him with an ever-growing array of attacks and abilities. (PHOTO COURTESY OF SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT)

In the moments when Delsin is hopping dizzily atop the city's skyline, raining fireballs below at a transport of DUP soldiers, "Infamous" (or "inFAMOUS," if you're a stickler for ridiculous branding) achieves a mind-blowing level of free-flowing, organic fun. Unfortunately, a few persistent flaws are enough to bring "Second Son" back down to earth.

Delsin more closely resembles a petulant pre-teen than a rebellious young adult. He whines, he sulks, he quips. He lands one genuinely funny joke for every 10 eye-rollers. The back-and-forth banter with his understandably exasperated brother does little to set the pair up for the emotional moments that follow.

Exploring freely is a marvelous experience, but routine side quests, such as destroying surveillance cameras and searching for audio logs, are unwelcome interruptions. One oft-repeated mission, which involves finding a secret agent in a crowd by viewing his or her photo, can be particularly maddening in areas where civilians are spread out over ground level, terraces and rooftops.

In contrast to these moments, the ability to tag certain areas with graffiti (either good or evil) by holding the controller like a can of spray paint feels much more rewarding.

All of these actions are ways to loosen the DUP's grip on the surrounding community, eventually forcing a showdown for control of the area.

"Second Son" falls into the common morality trap of putting all of the best goodies at either end of the karma tree. Once you make your initial hero-or-villain decision, you're wise to stick with that path throughout the rest of the game. Evil players are rewarded with more destructive killing techniques, while good ones learn ways to non-lethally subdue large groups of enemies. Each path has its own unique ending.

That said, I sure managed to pile up a lot of evil karma while trying to be a nice guy. Enemies will often throw up their hands and surrender mid-fight, giving you the option to spare their lives.

That's all well and good, but when Delsin is in the middle of a melee combo or we're all standing atop a crumbling tower, accidental executions become fairly routine.

Frustrated by crowds of anti-bio-terrorist protestors and street musicians who weren't bursting into flames, I eventually opted to run an evil character simultaneously with my good Delsin. This turned out to be a fantastic idea, giving access to new powers and a completely new style of combat.

Whether you approach them end-on-end or both at once, Sucker Punch's story is definitely worth a second playthrough, and that's high praise for any game.

Despite falling just short of something truly spectacular, "Infamous Second Son" should be near the top of every PlayStation 4 owner's must-play list. Whether Delsin is driven by a sense of justice or a lust for power, his abilities make for one exhilarating ride.

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